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CORVALLIS - Native American high school students from throughout the Pacific Northwest will have the opportunity for some hands-on media experience this summer during the inaugural Native American High School Journalism institute at Oregon State University Aug. 20-24.

Twenty-five students will spend five days documenting the annual Powwow at Grand Ronde, interviewing elders and others, and then produce a special newspaper and video on the project working with professionals on the OSU campus.

The institute is sponsored by OSU, the OSU Native American Collaborative Institute, The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Northwest Scholastic Press and The Oregonian newspaper.

Frank Ragulsky, director of student media at OSU, and Brent Merrill, editor of the Smoke Signals newspaper at Grand Ronde, are the workshop directors. They have partnered to make the institute a new educational experience for Native American high school students.

"The week-long institute will fill a void in the experiences of some high school students in Oregon and perhaps in the Pacific Northwest through this opportunity," said Ragulsky. "This opportunity will allow the students to attend the largest Powwow in the region during the summer, and give them the opportunity to develop interviewing and reporting skills.

"We'll have some training in digital photography, newspaper design and layout, as well as video documentary," he added.

Merrill said that the students would produce two products that would include a newspaper and a video of the Powwow.

"Our goal is to document the Powwow," he said. "We want Powwow participants and attendees to have something that's a substantive product for them to remember the Powwow."

Students will attend the five-day institute on the campus of OSU where students will get practical experience with the aid of journalists from The Oregonian newspaper. During the Powwow, students will be bused to Grand Ronde to work on the publication and video.

The lead instructor for the institute is Carla Day, journalism teacher at Dallas High School. Coordinating the institute at OSU is Kami Smith, assistant director of student media.

The institute is free for the students. For more information and registration information, contact Ragulsky at 541-737-3374. The deadline to register is July 15.